dragonwingsandtimetravel: book aesthetics // moodboard // The Last Beginning by Lauren James (@laurenjames)

“I can remember thinking I’d been turned inside out. Kind of like the first time I saw you.”

Sights: pale grey / soft green / deep black / spilled gold

Scents: fresh grass / old wool / sweet violets / engine oil

Sounds: if you ever want to be in love – james bay / she’s a lady – lion babe / where you go – the young romans / elenore – the turtles

#the last beginning #look at it! #look at it!!! #GOSH
3RD MAR 2017

📢 📢 📢
My newsletter goes out next week & I’ll be choosing a subscriber to win a signed copy of The Last Beginning! Sign up here to win!

#the last beginning #prizes #giveaway L
23RD FEB 2017

#imagine….this wedding…..as clove and ella…… #the last beginning

#is this a grown up clove or is this a grown up clove #the last beginning
1ST FEB 2017

captoring: this is from a store in los angeles called The Echo Park Time Travel Mart, and it’s pretty much the coolest place
#the last beginning

22ND FEB 2017

Valentine’s Day LGBT romance scene + Clove and Ella get engaged!
Last year on Valentine’s day I posted a romantic extract from The Next Together. Let’s do the same thing this year, from The Last Beginning! Here are Clove and Ella being flirty cuties in love.

(You can also read it on Wattpad)

C a r l i s l e , E n g l a n d , 1 7 4 5

When Clove finally went back downstairs, Mrs Samson scolded her for disappearing halfway through making breakfast and put Clove to work in the wash-house doing laundry.

“Did you find the ingredients which you need for your spell?” Ella asked, as she arrived an hour later with another load of dirty clothes for Clove. She dipped a hand into Clove’s bucket of fresh water and flicked her with it.

Clove leapt back, but the freezing cold water still splashed her arm.

“Hey!” she said, trying to be serious, but she couldn’t help the way her mouth just wanted to smile. She ducked her head, giving in to the urge to grin.

When she looked back up, Ella’s expression took her by surprise. She looked … awestruck. Like she couldn’t believe what she was seeing, when what she was seeing was Clove. Just Clove. No one had ever looked at her like that before.

Clove swallowed hard, her laughter dying in her throat. It was true that she had been very stressed recently. But surely she had smiled before? She couldn’t remember, right now, when Ella was looking at her like that.

Flustered, Clove flicked her hand into the water. Ella skittered away and let out a giggle.

Clove chased her out of the wash-house and across the lawn. But by the time she had cornered the girl by the kitchen door, all that was left of her attack was two damp palms. She pressed them to either side of Ella’s neck as she tried to squirm away. Ella winced at the coldness of the water on her skin.

The two girls were standing so close that Clove could see droplets of water clinging to Ella’s collarbone and the goosebumps standing up on her neck. Ella’s cap had come off and her hair was falling out of its bun again, messy spirals curling off in all directions.

There was a moment when they just stared at each other, breathing in unison. Clove felt like every molecule of her skin was alert and attuned to Ella’s movements. Something had snapped their bickering into a meaningful tension.

She parted her lips. If she just leant a little closer, if Ella just tilted her head a little to the right, then— Ella stepped back. Then she lifted her arm, holding up Clove’s bucket of water – which she must have grabbed before running out of the wash-house. Clove didn’t have time to react before the water fell through the air in an iridescent arc, splashing Clove right in the chest.

It was so cold that Clove couldn’t catch her breath to speak, and when she did all that escaped was helpless laughter.

“Ella!” she gasped. Ella was laughing so hard she nearly fell over.

“Yes!” she screeched. “Got you!”

“I’m soaking wet!” Clove’s bodice was drenched, and her skirts were rapidly darkening as the water spread.

“I’m going to throw you in the pond,” Clove threatened, tugging the damp fabric away from her skin.

Ella only laughed harder. “You look like a drowned cat! All bedraggled and furious.”

Clove hissed at her, baring her teeth like an angry feline. “If I get a chill and die, it’ll be all your fault.”

Clove held a hand to her forehead, letting out an overly long groan of pain, which turned into laughter when Ella jabbed her in the ribs.

“I think you will recover, Miss Tabbycat,” Ella said. “Especially as the last time you were dying you managed to wander off and escape me.”

leahsburkes asked: this thing i hear about what ella and clove’s engagement would be like….i’m afraid i’ll need to know more
Anonymous said:Please write Clove and Ella’s engagement scene!

Okay guys. LET’S DO THIS. After school, Clove does a degree at St Andrews while Ella finishes her degree at her home uni. Then Clove moves to Ella’s uni for a masters in theoretical morality, while Ella starts a PhD in classical history control potentiality. They live together in a tiny terraced house with a back garden, which Ella turns into a vegetable patch. It produces approximately 3 Brussel sprouts and a cucumber every summer. That’s all.

When they both finally graduate with a million degrees between them, Clove goes back to St Andrews to start running tests on the time machine with Jen, who now runs the St Andrews Physics department. Ella moves back with her. She commutes using her skim to a theatre company, where she works to gather accurate details about ancient greece for their productions, using her Skim.

They adopt a rescue dog, who Matt babysits during the day, because he works from home with Tom (they started a business together. they argue constantly.) Alfie, kate and matt’s three year old son, cries every day when Clove picks up the dog after work. Alfie hates goodbyes.

When Ella turns 25 she gets really nostalgic for how she and clove met (she reads a lot of fic written about them. Clove kinkshames her. It’s a Thing.). They drop the dog off with kate and matt and alfie and go on holiday to 1745. They hang out with 1745 Katherine and Matthew, and then Ella takes Clove on a picnic by the river, at the exact place where they met. The picnic is the same as the one Ella brought then, except there’s smoky bacon crisps too, this time.

After they eat, Clove naps with her head on Ella’s stomach. When she wakes up, there’s a bouquet of violets resting next to her. She laughs when she sees it, hysterically, and Ella gets offended that she finds her romantic gesture funny. Then Clove reaches into her bag and pulls out a box. She hands it to Ella.

Inside, there’s this:

“I guess we both had the same idea,” Clove says, blushing bright red. “You gave me a violet once, a long time ago. I thought it was about time I repaid the favour.“

Ella’s eyes flick down between the ring and Clove. “Are you…?” she says.

Clove nods. “Elenore Walker. Will you marry me?”

Ella bursts into tears. “You weren’t supposed to propose for another two years!” she yells. “It’s in your autobiography!!”

Clove grins. She’s been planning for a while that when she gets around to writing her ‘autobiography’, she’ll include some lies. Gotta keep Ella on her toes somehow. “Surprise?”

Ella says yes, they get married the next summer, it’s very stressful for everyone involved. The wedding photos go viral on Ella’s social media. Obviously this is their wedding song.

#obviously as soon as they get home ella pulls out a ring she bought before she even officially met clove #she saved up her pocket money for it

#cute!! #they obviously get engaged by a river under a willow tree #over a picnic

14TH FEB 2017

I’m in love with this beautiful fanart of Clove and Ella from The Last Beginning done by @layaart! Thank you so much 😻

#the last beginning #clovella
13TH FEB 2017

simonlevvis: ∟ books read in 2016; the last beginning by @laurenjames

‘’all i’m doing is carrying you around, and making a fool of myself. i’m useless. i’m not helping anyone.’’

‘’clove sutcliffe, you are doing things no human has ever done before. you are groundbreaking. you are unique. do not cease to function due to inappropriate emotional weakness.’’

This is amazing! This is so amazing! I’m going to cry! Omg! OH MY GOD. Thank you thank you thank you!

#the last beginning
30TH DEC 2016

SOLGFDSLSLFSLDFKLADKDA

This song is in my TLB playlist because of this! It makes me laugh literally EVERY TIME. IT’S LITERALLY ABOUT THEM. GOD. GOD!

I really need to write a short story where Meg and Ella meet. That ancestral connection is SO FUNNY.

#the last beginning
30TH OCT 2016

Special edition of The Last Beginning!
Exciting news! Scholastic Book Clubs have commissioned a special edition of The Last Beginning, which includes the short story set at Bletchley Park ’Another Together ’ at the end.

I’m so excited that this e-book exclusive short story is finally in print! It’s extra thick and chunky and means that you can have the whole series on your shelves together. THE DREAM.

Unfortunately it’s only available through schools, or online if you are connected to a school. You can also discuss setting up a teen book club with your school. It’s out today, and it’s a limited edition so if you want a copy, don’t wait around! Here are some pictures of the edition, to keep you going (or make you extra jealous if you can’t get a copy – I’m so sorry!!).

Just a little bit thicker than the normal edition!

In other news: There was a Bookseller article about my new book deal! Career goal achieved. My old school also said some nice things about me.

I have a Facebook page now. Like, if you wish.

The Brazilian version of The Next Together is out now! Someone posted this video review about it, which I obviously don’t understand – please don’t tell me if she’s saying lots of horrible things. I reached 50,000 words on my fourth novel. I think I’m going to do a writing progress update soon, if anyone is interested?

FREE eBOOK + other bits & bobs
This week The Next Together is free on iTunes as their Book of the Week. It’s also free on Kobo and Amazon Kindle. (UK only, I believe, but maybe Australia too? I’m not sure.)

Amazon UK | Kobo | iBooks
It’s currently #400 in the Kindle charts – let’s see how high we can get it!!

Some more things that have happened this week: I did an interview with Jasmine at Wenlock books.

“The storylines of The Next Together and The Last Beginning are completely intertwined. Did you write both books together or did you write one first and then cross reference?
I actually didn’t know there was going to be a sequel until I finished writing The Next Together. When I got to the end I realised that there was this whole other story to be told, from the other side of things. I then wrote the first draft of The Last Beginning, and luckily it coincided quite well because I was working on the edits for TNT.

I was able to go back in and seed in lots of scenes and conversations and plot developments that I’d come up with while writing TLB. It was lots of fun, writing offhand mentions of certain characters in TNT, knowing that readers would glide over them without paying attention – and then the minute they read TLB, they’d be like “OH MY GOD. I’ve known them since the last book!””

Some of my favourite reader reactions so far:

“ page 290. thebestkissingsceneevertho. Omg.” – Grace Latter

“First of all, let my start by saying that this book is so CLEVER. Honestly, the way it ties in with the first book is brilliant and well thought out. I had to grab my copy of The Next Together from my shelf and go back to certain parts now that I understood it more. There were so many ‘OOOOHHHHH’ moments and I need to praise Lauren James for her wonderful brain.” – Queen of Teen Fiction

“Unique, funny, chaotic and full of adventure, The Last Beginning picks up with a new heroine. A passionate knitter and whiz-kid programmer, Clove is smart, impetuous, hot-headed and prone to making slightly disastrous and immature decisions, but her heart’s (usually) in the right place.” – The Paper Alchemist

“The Next Together was left on a cliffhanger that had me screaming for more, and The Last Beginning answered all of the questions I had and more. It was a perfect sequel! The Last Beginning picks up in a slightly different place to The Next Together but works better for it. Although the main characters of The Next Together are in The Last Beginning, this book is really Clove’s story. I don’t usually gel with new characters in sequels, but I fell in love with Clove from the get-go. I really would like to be best friends with her. Can it be arranged please?” – Queen of Contemporary

#the last beginning #alice
11TH OCT 2016

spacezeros: today is the release day of my amazing friend @laurenjames‘s novel THE LAST BEGINNING. please read it. it’s about time-travel and it’s so gay

My memory loves you; it asks about you all the time.
— Jonathan Carroll

#Ella to clove #the last beginning
18TH JUL 2017

So….a piece of embroidered fanart for my books exists now. Clove, the best knitter in Scotland, would definitely approve of her branding. •
I love Clove’s rainbow wristband from Tom (with an S for Spart!) and Kate’s fox figurine. Clove’s knitting needles are the perfect touch too. It’s so well thought out!
This #TheLastBeginning art is by @readsewscarlett, who is my new hero.

#the last beginning #lgbt #lgbt ya
14TH JUL 2017

Talking of art, some pretty outstanding pictures of my books have been popping up recently. Here are some of my faves. You guys are all so clever!

#the next together #the loneliest girl in the universe #the last beginning
14TH JUL 2017

Amal Clooney and her husband have named their baby daughter Ella, and now my headcanon of Clove’s Ella’s parents has changed DRAMATICALLY.

A human rights lawyer and a sassy actor? Sounds about right for Clove’s girlfriend.

#the last beginning #Honestly though imagine a girl with George Clooney’s voice. Clove’s got no chance. #this is what i offer you for pride month #you’re welcome
7TH JUN 2017

I am writing a scene with Clove and Ella for something exciting…and I’ve missed them SO MUCH. I’m getting emotional.

#the last beginning #another beginning
4TH JUN 2017

#a Tom look #the last beginning
29TH MAY 2017

The Fear Paralysis
I just hit 40,000 words on my WIP, which is a miracle because I’ve belatedly hit The Fear Paralysis. It usually hits around 20k, when I can’t write because I become convinced it’s all terrible.

Things I usually worry about during The Fear Paralysis:

1) By this point in the book, I should really know more about the characters than I do! Am I a fraud?

2) All the “plot twists” I’ve included are REALLY OBVIOUS & everyone is going to guess what happens immediately and get bored. Am I a fraud?

3) I’ve worked out what novels/films/tv shows most heavily inspired the story in my sub-conscious. It’s all been done before! Am I a fraud?

4) I don’t have enough plot to keep this going for a whole book/I have TOO MUCH plot to fit in one book/I have no plot. Am I a fraud?

5) I’ve reread it so many times that its not funny anymore. Everyone is going to find my “humour” lame and embarrassing. Am I a fraud?

I could carry on…. I guess the point is that I’ve done this five times now, and I think this stuff every single time. But in the end it always works out fine & I’m really proud of my drafts. So you’ve just gotta wrestle your self doubt into submission.

And no writer is ever a “fraud”. All you have to do to be classified as a writer is WRITE.

“Here’s a brutal truth: Career novelists aren’t the most talented writers. They’re adequately talented writers who finish what they start. I mean, artistic genius is fun and messy and cool. But grit is the secret ingredient in any creative industry.” – Maggie Stiefvater
25TH MAY 2017

#the first is ella replying to cloves selfie #the second is clove replying to ella #also Victor and yuri #who I am just realising have the exact same relaysh dynamics as Ella and clove #Ella is even more Extra than victor though and travelled across time to court her crush #clove/yuri getting flustered and confused by the whole thing yesssss this is my jam turn it up 👌👌👌👌 #the last beginning #yuri on ice #that feeling when you look hard at the similarities between your OTPs and feel Known
2ND APR 2017

Anonymous asked: just finished reading tnt and tlb omg i love them so much! is ella gay or bi/pan/etc? she is amazing and i rlly want an ella in my life i love her so much
thank youuuu!!! ❤

Ella is bi! And she’s my fave too!!

#the last beginning #Anonymous
28TH MAR 2017

#that time clove and Ella have a massive fight and split up for a few weeks and clove goes Full Emo #this is that #the last beginning
16TH MAR 2017

jessiebellafreckle: A Series A Month 2018 – January – The Last Beginning by Lauren James

My January read for A Series A Month was Lauren James’ time-travelling romance duology, The Next Together and after reviewing the first book in the series here, I dove into The Last Beginning straight away. So without further ado, what did I think?

The Last Beginning is the story of Clove, the daughter of Matthew and Katherine, our protagonists from The Next Together. After the events in 2039 lead Matt and Kate to disappear, Clove is raised by adoptive parents Tom and Jen, and upon finding out about her birth parents, she begins her mission to find out what happened to them. The story is just as twisty and mysterious as the first book, keeping you hooked all the way through, and somehow manages to answer all the questions we were left with at the end, as well as simultaneously creating a whole load of new ones. It’s chock full of confusing, mindbendy, paradoxy stuff, and usually I get switched off to that sort of thing pretty easily because I don’t understand it and it just hurts my head, but this was so fun that I didn’t mind it being too clever for me.

The series continues with the successful format established in the first book, of using different types of media to help tell the story. I loved seeing the whole picture build up more and more as the story went along, and seeing things relating to Katherine and Matthew with fresh eyes and new knowledge, so I kept getting to have these ‘ahhh that’s why that is’ moments. One piece of evidence I really liked was the textbook with a picture of Clove on the cover, where the illustration was done by Alice Oseman, which was a lovely nod to the wider world of UKYA.

Another thing that links beautifully back to the first book, is how we see the events of 1745 unfold again, but this time from Clove’s perspective rather than Katherine’s. Again, this time around we have a whole load of new information, so I was able to understand things more and see it all in a different light. I loved how that made it like a completely new scene, but there was still that familiarity there tying it in to The Next Together and with every new bit you read you were making more and more sense of the first book.

Lauren James drew a really cute venn diagram of similarities and differences between the two books, which you can see here, but obviously one of the big differences is the characters. Katherine and Matthew had such strong personalities and voices, that you’d be forgiven for being wary about carrying on the story with a new protagonist. There’s no need to worry though, because Clove is a brilliant character. She has some of the more lovable qualities of her parents, so yet again there’s familiarity there, but she’s also so individual and interesting in her own right.

One of the things Clove seems to have picked up from her biological mother is her love of sarcasm. In fact, humour seems to be much more of a prominent theme in this book than the first. Whilst Katherine and Matthew were very funny and there were some great light moments in The Next Together, the earlier time landscapes were pretty serious thanks to the propriety of the times, so as The Last Beginning is set mainly in the future rather than the past, I felt there was more scope for comedy. This was helped out as well by Clove’s AI, Spart, who was so sassy! He was such a great character and, along with Ella, provided some excellent comic relief to the, at times, tense, confusing and serious storyline.

Another thing I loved about Clove was how authentically teenage she felt. She was so full of angst, but not in an annoying, whiny way, just in a way that felt so incredibly real. The reader is introduced pretty early on to all the things she’s going through – some of which are huge deals, like finding out she’s adopted, and others may seem fairly small, like her best friend getting a boyfriend – and we get to see how all of these things weave together and create this whole mess of feelings in her head making her act out. Throughout the start of the book there are moments when she says herself that none of the individual issues are what’s bothering her, she just can’t pin down what’s wrong, or she starts crying ‘for no reason’, and the whole time she’s struggling with the frustration of being somewhere between childhood and adulthood so she can’t ever figure out exactly when she wants to be looked after and when she wants to be treated as an equal. It’s all so relatable and gives the book a nice contemporary feel even though it’s a mind bendy sci-fi set in the future.

This just wouldn’t be a Jessie review if I didn’t mention the gay would it? I’m pretty much of the opinion that ladies loving ladies makes anything better, but I was particularly happy to see a queer protagonist in this, because I know underrepresentation is a big problem in the SFF scene, so seeing a positive F/F relationship taking front and centre is a huge thing. And it is such a lovely relationship too! Clove and Ella are such a sweet couple, with a realistic relationship packed with cute, intimate moments, plenty of teasing and in jokes, the odd argument, and some really healthy depictions of communication and mutual respect. And there’s no Kill Your Gays! You can tell that this is really lovingly written by somebody who has their own experience in the area and appreciates the importance of good representation.

The Last Beginning was, on the whole, one of the weirdest things I’ve ever read, but utterly perfect. As I mentioned, it answers questions from The Next Together and creates new ones too, taking place both before and after events of the first books, and creates this confusing and wonderful sort of loop; it’s like a prequel and a sequel at the same time! By the end of the book, in more ways than one, it kind of felt like the story had come full circle and it just made me smile so much because it was such a lovely way to finish it. There’s definitely scope to tell more stories about these characters – and I’m looking forward to reading the two novellas, Another Together and Another Beginning – but this particular story arc definitely feels complete and I’m really satisfied with how it wrapped up.

So that’s it for now! Technically, that’s the end of the series, but I’m intending to read both of the short stories as well and whilst I won’t do a full-on review, I’ll probably post a short wrap up about them, so keep your eye out for that. As always, be sure to follow me on Twitter and Instagram for more bookish content, and if you’ve been inspired to challenge yourself to read A Series A Month, head to Dani’s blog to find out more.

As with The Next Together, this book meets my requirements for my other two reading challenges this year as well. If you want to find out more about those, and get involved yourself, head to Chelley’s blog for British Books Challenge, and Austine’s blog for Beat the Backlist.

#this is just the best ahhhhh #the last beginning #thank you!!
23RD JAN 2018

boethiah: enough is enough. i’m going to weave a fucking tapestry

#clove #the last beginning
19TH JAN 2018

#the last beginning #tom and clove
11TH JAN 2018

bushwasright: even in the 19th century BCE people we’re complaining that there was no originality left

#ella #the last beginning
9TH DEC 2017

alwaysbuythebook asked: Have you ever seen a picture of Kathryn Newton? She’s almost exactly how I picture Ella! (I reread The Last Beginning in the uni library today and really really struggled not to make excited noises out loud. Thank you so much.)
Ahh, yes she really does!

I’m glad you liked it! There’s also a free short story, if you haven’t read that yet. 🙂

#the last beginning #alwaysbuythebook
5TH DEC 2017

wunkolo: I had a dream I was able to time travel and I went like 10,20,100,1000,2000 years into the future but the instant I went to 4,000 I got stuck in a time dilation jail set up by the American government in the year 3,877 in which anyone that tried to time travel back or forth across May 23, 3877 while on Earth would end up stuck in this time dilation chamber trap to stop time travelers but like it was so crazy and mismanaged because it was legit capturing like every single time traveler ever and the place had only been open for 12 minutes and was already getting overpopulated with nonstop multiple recursive instances of this one other guy trying to break previous versions of himself out of this god damn time traveler jail

kaylapocalypse: that is fucking hysterical and absolutely sounds like something the American Government would set up.

#ella #the last beginning
26TH OCT 2017

Anonymous asked: are you making more books of the next together? i love the books including the last beginning and was wondering if your making more books because i would love to read them.

no more books, but RIGHT AT THIS MOMENT I’m writing a little last beginning story set in st andrews, because i just went there and it gave me lots of clove/ella and tom/jen feelings. it’s genderbent for a bit of fun, so….send me your best boy names for clove and ella, and if they’re better than mine i’ll use them in the story 🙂 🙂

#the last beginning #Anonymous
12TH NOV 2018

I’ve been watching Sabrina and Lachlan Watson has SUCH a Clove vibe going on, wow

#the last beginning #please netflix make a tv show of my books and cast them i need it in my life!!!! #lachlan watson
26TH OCT 2018

I made a little Venn diagram to show you how The Quiet at the End of the World fits in with my other books. This is really interesting for me, because it’s basically like looking at how the inside of my own brain works. I didn’t know I was super…
I made a little Venn diagram to show you how The Quiet at the End of the World fits in with my other books. This is really interesting for me, because it’s basically like looking at how the inside of my own brain works. I didn’t know I was super interested in those things in the centre, but apparently I am. I wonder if my next book will be about war or IVF treatment too. 🤔r

#the next together #the last beginning #The Loneliest Girl in the Universe #the quiet at the end of the world
24TH OCT 2018

I took this trio on a little autumn photoshoot today. I can’t believe The Next Together is three years old now.I’m working on lots of different projects at the minute, none of which I can talk about yet. I’ve gone from spending several months solid working on just my new manuscript, to doing something different every day. It’s exciting and refreshing and I feel ready for 2019 – especially because I’ve been planning lots of stuff to post about The Quiet at the End of the World, which I can’t WAIT to share.
For now, I’m going to try to be patient and get all my projects finished, ready to show you all.Are any of you planning to do Nanowrimo this year? What kind of things are you doing to prepare?

#the next together #the last beginning #the loneliest girl in the universe
22ND OCT 2018

Happy #nationalpoetryday to every poem, but most especially to this nursery rhyme I wrote for The Last Beginning. I have no poetic talent at all, and I’m pretty sure I wrote an early version of this and my editor @ajgraingerauthor was like ‘this is….not good.’ and proceeded to rewrite the whole thing. So this was an ACHIEVEMENT. Also, when I was looking for this page I ended up just reading my own book for a bit. I love this one so much. I think it will always be one of my favourite things I’ve ever written.

#the last beginning
4TH OCT 2018

jamie-kaga-ricci asked: Standard Deviation by Danny Schmidt is a Clovella anthem and no one can convince me otherwise

I just listened to this five times in a row because you are absolutely right

#The Last beginning
1ST OCT 2018

The @chronicintrovert art prints should have started arriving today! Has anyone got theirs yet? (Buy here)

#alice #the next together #the last beginning #the loneliest girl in the universe
13TH SEP 2018

(Clove and Ella are characters from The Last Beginning, an LGBT time travel YA novel by meeee)

#the last beginning #lgbt stem day #lgbtstemday
5TH JUL 2018

9 LGBTQ+ British Books Perfect For Film Adaptation Because They Deserve The Big Screen → bustle.com

ByEMMA FLYNN
June 15 2018

Stocksy
It has been a brilliant couple of years for diversity in cinema, with so many incredible movies with LGBTQ+ representation hitting the big screen. Hollywood has started to approach queer relationships and queer characters with the multi-dimensional approach that has long been afforded to cis and heterosexual couples. Some of the inspiration for this has come from the world of literature, and so here are nine LGBTQ+ British books perfect for film adaptation that I think producers should jump on next.

So what great examples have we already seen? There was surely not a dry eye in cinemas anywhere when Call Me By Your Name came out. Based on the 2007 novel of the same name by André Aciman, Timothée Chalamet and Armie Hammer’s performances were widely lauded, and earned the former a Best Actor nomination at the Oscars. Then there’s Carol, based on Patricia Highsmith’s The Price Of Salt, which as well as being a bracing portrayal of love, intimacy, and heartbreak, is also possibly the best Christmas film ever (don’t @ me).

There is a wealth of British writers who have been writing about LGBTQ+ issues and presenting queer characters in their work for years, providing ample material for filmmakers and producers to draw from. The following list is made up of the best books by UK writers, dealing with characters and issues from across the LGBTQ+ spectrum, that would make incredible films.

1’Girl Meets Boy’ by Ali Smith

Cannongate
Ali Smith is a genius. Her books are incredible. And if you haven’t read anything by her before, Girl Meets Boy is a great place to start. Anthea’s relationship with queer anarchist Robin is the backdrop to this short but lively novel that is a modern retelling of Ovid’s Metamorphoses.

Buy the book here

2’Orlando’ by Virginia Woolf

Penguin
This list would be woefully incomplete without Orlando, which Woolf wrote for her rumoured lover Vita Sackville-West. The book spans across centuries, jumps between genders, and examines identity, love, and sexuality with subversive wit and wry prose. It needs a film adaptation NOW.

Buy the book here

3’The Well of Loneliness’ by Radclyffe Hall

Penguin
Marguerite Radclyffe Hall’s novel is seen as a landmark for British LGBTQ+ writing. It’s a doorstop of a book, coming in at just under 500 pages, but the story of Stephen and Mary is a page turner, examining not just lesbian relationships in the ’20s but also the social isolation so many women faced because of their sexuality.

Buy the book here

4’Boys Don’t Cry’ by Malorie Blackman

Penguin
Blackman is the author of the Noughts and Crosses series which pretty much everyone devoured as a teenager, and Boys Don’t Cry has that same intensity that makes you want to stay up all night reading it. Though Dante’s story is the centre of this book, it’s his gay brother Adam who readers will want to focus on. The drama and emotional upheaval in Boys is pretty much written for the screen.

Buy the book here

5’Tipping The Velvet’ by Sarah Waters

Little Brown
Sarah Waters is the award winning author of some of the best books with queer protagonists ever written. Tipping The Velvet was her first novel and is now seen as a must read for fans of LGBTQ+ fiction. Yes, it was adapted into a miniseries, but the coming-of-age story of Nancy and her life in London deserves the big screen more than anything.

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6’The Last Beginning’ by Lauren James

Walker
The Last Beginning is the sequel to James’ must read The Next Together. The author herself has summed up the book as “Lesbian romance with MANY JOKES,” so if that doesn’t sell it, nothing will. The story of Clove and Ella is full of twists and turns and the nature of the book itself, replete with time-travel and kick-ass action scenes, makes it such a strong contender to be adapted into a film.

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7’Eating Cake’ by Stella Duffy

Hodder & Stoughton
Lisa technically has it all, but once boredom sets in, it’s hard to banish it. And so in Eating Cake we see not just one but two affairs. It’s been described as incredibly raw look at infidelity and the complexities within modern relationships, and the relatability of Lisa’s story and frustrations would make for the perfect film.

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8’Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit’ by Jeanette Winterson

Penguin
Winterson’s novel tells the story of 16-year-old Jeanette who decides to leave the church, her family, and everything she knows behind, for the young woman she is in love with. It is a must read and comes with so much praise, and though has been adapted for radio and a mini-series in 1989, it still hasn’t gotten the big budget film version it deserves.

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9’Brighton Trans*Formed’

Queens Park
Brighton Trans*Formed is not a novel but the stories that make up this collection of writing, memories, oral histories, and photography is so fascinating. It chronicles the lives and experiences of Brighton’s Transgender community, and provide a snapshot of gender expression and diversity that would make as essential a documentary as it has a book.

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The UK has such a rich history of LGBTQ+ writing, both contemporary and older, that it can be difficult to narrow it down to a list without excluding some incredible books. Seeing novels like Girl Meets Boy or The Well Of Loneliness make it to big screen would be immense as books like this present the diverse set of voices and stories the public is crying out for.

#The Last Beginning
23RD JUN 2018

Anonymous asked: Hi! Are any of your books been translated to any other languages? ❤
Yes! Here are the ones published so far: